The Swedish school of sport and health science/ Gymnastik och idrottshögskolan

What The Swedish school of sport and health science/ Gymnastik och idrottshögskolan does

Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan (GIH), known in English as The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences, is a Swedish public university institution (statlig högskola) headquartered at Lidingövägen 1 in Stockholm, adjacent to the Stockholm Olympic Stadium. Founded in 1813 by Pehr Henrik Ling as the Gymnastiska Centralinstitutet (GCI), GIH is Sweden's only specialized university college exclusively focused on sport, physical activity, and health. The institution is organized into three research-and-education divisions: Physiology, Nutrition and Biomechanics (FNB); Health Sciences (HV); and Movement, Culture and Society (RKS). It operates three specialized research laboratories — Åstrandlaboratoriet (physiology), Laboratoriet för biomekanik och motorisk kontroll (BMC), and Laboratoriet för tillämpad idrottsvetenskap (LTIV) — alongside a specialized library recognized as the world's oldest sports library, containing rare books dating from the 1500s onward in anatomy, physiology, gymnastics, fencing, and acrobatics. In May 2026 the institution established the National Center for Adapted Physical Activity and Parasport (NCAP), expanding into the parasport and adapted-physical-activity vertical.

GIH's core product set comprises undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral educational programs in sport coaching, physical education teaching, and sports science, complemented by continuing-education and custom programs for external organizations. Education is delivered primarily on-campus at the Stockholm site, and applicants are routed through Sweden's centralized national university admission system (antagning.se); international students are admitted via Erasmus+ and bilateral exchange agreements. Supporting digital infrastructure includes a Sitevision-built public website (www.gih.se), an Angular 9 course portal (kurswebb.gih.se), the Canvas learning management system, and Apache Solr and ElasticSearch for search. Administrative operations run on Unit4 ERP, Ladok for study administration, TimeEdit for scheduling, Confluence for collaboration, and NextCloud for file storage. Marketing and recruitment span educational fairs (e.g., Saco Studentmässa), open-house events on campus, the GIH podcast, open lectures, and an active presence across Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok, and X.

GIH is funded primarily through annual appropriations from the Swedish government as a statutory authority (statlig myndighet), and education is tuition-free for Swedish and EU/EEA students. Supplementary revenue streams include tuition fees from non-EU/EEA students, research grants from the Swedish Research Council and European research programs, and revenue from continuing-education programs, collaboration agreements, and facility rentals with sports federations, healthcare providers, schools, and other organizations. The institution transfers knowledge to society through the GIH Innovation initiative, open lectures, customizable training programs, and the GIH podcast. Centrum för idrottsforskning (CIF), Sweden's national sports-research coordination center, is hosted at GIH and reinforces its role as the national hub for sport-science research.

Name

The Swedish school of sport and health science/ Gymnastik och idrottshögskolan

Legal name

Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan

Website

https://gih.se

Company type

Private

Founded year

1813

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan (GIH) is Sweden's only specialized public university for sport, physical activity, and health sciences, founded in 1813. It delivers undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral education, conducts applied research, and offers continuing-education and custom programs to external organizations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockholm

HQ country

Sweden

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As a Swedish public university (statlig högskola), GIH receives primary funding from the Swedish government through annual appropriations for education and research activities.
2. Tuition Fees: Tuition fees apply for non-EU/EEA students. Swedish and EU/EEA students generally study tuition-free under Swedish higher education policy.
3. Research Grants: GIH receives research funding from Swedish Research Council, European research programs, and other research funding bodies for specific research projects.
4. Collaboration and Continuing Education: Revenue from collaboration agreements, continuing education programs, facility rentals, and professional development courses for external organizations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

GIH delivers higher education programs (undergraduate, graduate, doctoral) in sport coaching, physical education teaching, and sport and health sciences, alongside nationally and internationally recognized research conducted through three dedicated institutions (FNB, HV, RKS). The institution supplements its academic core with a specialized sport and health library housing the world's oldest sports collections, continuing education and customized programs for external organizations, and specialized research laboratories (Åstrandlaboratoriet, BMC, LTIV) supporting physiology, biomechanics, and applied sports science research.

Product overview

Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan (GIH) is Sweden's specialized university for sport, physical activity, and health sciences. The institution operates as a single unified university offering educational programs, conducting research, and engaging with society. Its core educational offerings include undergraduate programs in sports coaching, physical education teaching, and sports science, complemented by continuing education and research activities. The institution provides student support services, maintains a specialized library system with digital resources, and operates research laboratories. GIH operates multiple digital platforms including its main public website (www.gih.se), course website (kurswebb.gih.se), library e-courses via Canvas LMS, and various internal collaboration tools.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Educational Programs and Courses Undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education programs in sport coaching, physical education teaching, and sport and health sciences, aimed at prospective Swedish and international students.
• Research Activities Nationally and internationally recognized research in sport, physical activity, and health organized across multiple subject areas and research groups within three institutions (FNB, HV, RKS).
• GIH Library Specialized library in sport, physical activity, and health, including historical collections from 1813, access to databases and e-journals, and services open to students, staff, and the public.
• Continuing Education and Collaboration Programs Customized education, Lärarlyftet (Teacher Development), expert lectures, consulting, and the GIH Innovation initiative, delivered to sports organizations, schools, healthcare providers, companies, and public-sector organizations.
• Specialized Research Laboratories Research laboratories including Åstrandlaboratoriet (physiology), BMC (Biomechanics and Motor Control), and LTIV (Applied Sports Science), supporting research and exercise testing.
• National Center for Adapted Physical Activity and Parasport (NCAP) National center for adapted physical activity and parasport, conducting research and enabling collaboration to expand physical activity opportunities for people with disabilities.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration20 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Centrum för idrottsforskning (CIF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentrum för idrottsforskning (CIF) is a national center for sports research located at GIH. CIF conducts and coordinates sports research in Sweden and serves as a hub for research collaboration in physical activity and sports.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Loughborough University: Loughborough is consistently ranked as the world's leading university for sport-related subjects and operates dedicated sport-science teaching and research infrastructure. While broader than GIH, its School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences is the most internationally renowned comparable program.
• University of Lausanne (ISSUL): The Institut des sciences du sport de l'Université de Lausanne (ISSUL) is a Swiss university institute dedicated to sport sciences with research and teaching activities closely mirroring GIH's structure. It is a relevant European peer for benchmarking academic and research output.
• German Sport University Cologne (DSHS): DSHS Köln is Germany's only university dedicated to sport and sport science, making it one of Europe's leading specialized sport universities. It mirrors GIH's structure of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs plus dedicated research institutes in biomechanics, physiology, and training science.
• Norwegian School of Sport Sciences (NIH): The Norwegian School of Sport Sciences is the closest Nordic peer — a publicly funded specialized higher-education institution dedicated exclusively to sport and physical activity. It offers education and research comparable to GIH, serves the same Scandinavian talent pool, and competes for international students and Nordic research funding.

Broad incumbents

• Karolinska Institutet: Karolinska Institutet is Sweden's leading medical university and a major research collaborator and competitor to GIH in health science. It offers broader medical and public-health research capacity but overlaps with GIH on physical-activity-and-health topics and competes for the same grant pools.

Regional players

• Örebro University: Örebro University is a Swedish public university with a Department of Health Sciences and sport-related research. It competes domestically with GIH for students, faculty, and Swedish Research Council funding in overlapping subject areas like exercise physiology and public health.
• University of Copenhagen (Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports): The University of Copenhagen operates a dedicated Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports that provides sport-science research and education comparable to GIH. It serves the Danish market but competes for Nordic students and EU research grants in overlapping fields.
• Linnaeus University: Linnaeus University is a Swedish public university with sport science programs that compete with GIH for Swedish students and faculty. While not specialized exclusively in sport, it offers overlapping degree pathways in sports science and physical education, drawing from the same domestic talent pool.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/gihsweden
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/GIHuniversity
• Facebookfacebook.com/gihstudent
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gih-strandlaboratoriet
• Instagraminstagram.com/gihsweden
• TikToktiktok.com/@gihstudent

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Swedish school of sport and health science/ Gymnastik och idrottshögskolan